Looking to buy a small car

Hi everyone, I'm keeping my truck but looking to get rid of my van and getting a small car. Went and tried 4 cars so far, the all 2012 models, ford focus, honda civic, hyundai elantra and the chevy cruze. So far the most impressive one for the price and everything else is the hyundai elantra, now i've never owned one of their products so i'm not sure. Feel free to give me pointers about the cars i've mentionned or others that I have not tried.

 

Mazda 3 is always highest rated in the class by Consumer Reports, IIRC

 

What about Camary. We have a 3 and its been good to us the past 6 years.

 

Scion???

Staying with Toyota is always a safe bet. And as mentioned above Camry is a great car. Had about 3 in the family that have all gone well over 200k and still ran good.

 

http://www.streetfire.net/video/Top-Gear-Peel-P50_139353.htm

 

What would your small car be used for? Are you looking to just get good gas mileage? Focus has good gas mileage, but personally I think they are ugly. the newer Elantra models look a lot better than the older ones. I've never owned one, but have heard good things about them. You can't ever go wrong w/a Civic and I'm not a fan of Chevy's at all. I had a Subaru before my Tacoma. They are awesome.

 

Smart Car

 

fiat 500

 

get a used older car, thats a smart choice IMO, i got a 93 tercel for 900 bucks, have had it for a couple months. already saved about 300 in gas.

 

I want a cheap car to buy so it would be more like the corolla if I go toyota. It would be my wife's car she would drive it the most of the time. Did not like the cruze, not much of a fan of the new civic and the headrest on it really bothered my wife. No smart car dealers near me as is I have to travel 150 miles for the toyota and honda dealers. She would use it to go to work and shopping, our gas bills have been in the $400 or more a month so we need to do something about it.

 

The corolla's looks don't appeal to her too much and we need to buy another car next year so we don't want a too expensive one.

 

Mazda 3

 

i spend $150 in gas a week by my self before i got my car...

 

i have a new scion xb

super roomy and has the 2.4l camry engine so its actually pretty fun to drive (walk all over a corolla

same price as a corolla with more bells and whistles and more room and i get 31-33 mpg on the highway 28 around town

it can carry 4 adults very comfortably...with room in the back

 

My brother got a Hyundai Sonata for a rather long commute every other week... zero complaints, excellent mileage (without being a hybrid), ample room for family, excellent/long warranty, comes well equipped/decent options, decent power, and... not expensive...

If I were to want/need an inexpensive, reliable, good mileage vehicle that comes with decent options, I'd look at Hyundai for sure.

Hyundai isn't as well known/as popular as others, but they're kinda new (compared to Ford, Toyota, etc.). Their latest lineup looks pretty impressive, IMO and their reputation is only improving.

 

The Cruze is new, so it sounds like you are looking to replace gas expense with new car payment expense...?

 

depends on how much he drives, it makes sense...

my car payment is $250 a month. much better than the $150 a week i was spending in my tacoma...

 

Unfortunately Honda is no longer a safe bet as their build quality has gone way down over the years. I recently had a Civic when I was commuting and it was a POS and had many of the same problems that many other owners complained of so I wasn't out of the norm. I have been stuck with an Elantra or few when renting cars out of town. They appear to be ok but they have a hard time getting out of their own way in my opinion. Motor is weak in the power department but than again it is one of their entry level vehicles. I know you mentioned looking to go small and cheap but you may want to look at some used mid size cars that still have a good mpg rating since your wife will be driving it daily. I dunno, I wouldn't feel safe sticking my wife in a little compact which is why I have her in a Runner and really pushed for a Sequoia. You didn't mention if you have a kid or not but if you do that is another good reason to maybe look a little bigger and look at cars like the Accord or Camry. Never hurts to have a little more sheet metal when loved ones will be driving the vehicle.

 

The mazda 3 would also be a good choice but the gas mileage is not as good as the others and I'm not sure how well it ages. I own an RX8 that's been reliable for me eventhough I hardly drive it ( just drove it twice this summer). As for the scion there is no dealer near me. I have a 11 yr old that would come with us on trips but I find the elantra big enough and better on gas than the accord or camry. The reason I want to stay in the lower price range is that I have to buy another car next summer and don't want to spend too much. The difference in gas that I pay now and will pay with a new car would probably pay for the car or close to it. My van is 10 years old with no problems but will have to put money into it soon I suppose so it makes more sense to me to trade it in for something new. Thank you all for your input it is greatly appreciated.

 

This, also Mazda is running 0% APR for up to 60 months.